October 30, 2004

Tori Amos is releasing a new record on Feb 22. Here's a classic Tori quote from Billboard, which one imagines was delivered in a soft whisper with dramatic pauses and widening of the eyes:

The Beekeeper is musically inspired by the fact that the piano has realized that she has an organ," Amos says. "With my right hand on her organ and my left hand on her piano keys, I have been changed by the relationship between these two beautiful creatures, the Bosendorfer piano and the B3 Hammond organ.

Isn't this just precious? Your child can dress as one of the most iconic images of the war. What would really be good is if someone else's little boy put on a Private's uniform and danced the Lynndie around this child.the link

I have been saving a few to comment on:
Depeche Mode "Halo" (Goldfrapp's glorious remix)sample (MP3)Take a good song and make it radically gorgeous. It is my opinion that Goldfrapp is a melding of Madonna and Bjork in one act...Alison Goldfrapp will seek world domination very soon.

Queen Latifah's version of "Lush Life"listen to a sample on this pageThis was used years ago, according to the Doyanne, in "Living Out Loud" and it makes an appearance on her new jazzy Dana Owens CD. Played this one over and over yesterday at work....

Trashcan Sinatras "Trouble Sleeping" sampleLyrical equivalent of a British murder mystery in a placid little town. Begins as trad folkie pop but turns into a late 60's Jimmy Webb (refer to Glen Campbell) homage.

and two I sadly cannot sample:
Seal "Love's Divine" Passengerz Radio MixA 2003 song -I just discovered this mellow remix. Lovely! Got it on itunes, which has almost everything Seal has ever recorded. Listen to this instead of his stupid new cover of "Walk On By."

Scissor Sisters "Mary" JunkieXL Radio MixMellow yet urgent, eliminating the Floydian prog rock element of the original arrangement. The single is backed, btw, by their twangy acoustic version of Franz Ferdinand's new classic "Take Me Out" One hot band on top of another...

October 27, 2004

The photo above is the actual Mrs. Federline Greatest Hits cover. Who is managing this minge? Does her insanity extend to every aspect of her life and career? (I am not even touching the irony of her covering Bobby Brown) What's with the feathery fur and Phyllis Diller hair? Doesn't it look as if the body is not hers? She is far too sausagey to have a torso that long or legs like that. Strangely, her boobs look too small. That's a first! And please look at the shiny legs: is this actually a Barbie doll body?

Whatevah, homegirl, it don't matter. The far superior cover is the one created by the brilliant PopJustice, shown further down. That cover truly captures Titney Spears in this time, the September of her career...

It's my first Cameo Blogger, Joanna, with her picture and comments on the Loretta Lynn concert last week in Atlanta:

She was everything I knew she would be and 100x more!! It was so great!!! She was so funny and fabulous. Her assistant Tim makes all her dresses - she wore this fantastic "Loretta" dress - the same as the one on the Van Lear Rose album cover except in red.This venue we went to is way out in the country on someone's farm. You park in the grass and sit on folding chairs on sawdust. It only seats about 500 people so there is not a bad seat. During the first three songs you are allowed to line up in the middle aisle and go up to the stage and take pics and give gifts to the artist. That's how we got the great pic of her.

She told people to call out what they wanted to hear and she played a lot of it. Of course she ended with "Coal Miner's Daughter". The best part was she was so conversational. You never felt like it was the same shtick you would hear at all her shows. She is such a hoot! I know I can't stop gushing but seriously, she was so amazing. She is 70 years old!! Saturday night was a dream realized for me. I just adore her and she did not disappoint.

October 25, 2004

In 1992, when Madonna was at a bit of a fever pitch, she recorded this long and somewhat idiotic PSA urging people to vote. Before Esther was a PEL (Proper Enlgish Lady), she seemed to enjoy channeling her friend Debi Mazar's voice and mannerisms. If you watch this (about 8.4M), you'll see what I mean.

Most of it seems improvised - it's not exactly sharp. The only part I really laughed at is the end, when she goes to pick and outfit and says, "Ick no! That looks like something Cher would vote in."

The Divine Comedy have a new online EP you can download. I have used the service, 7 Doigital , a number of times with not too much drama. The Bavarian EP has 3 live orchestral songs: No One Knows, Three Sisters and Our Mutual Friend, all live. (the first one is a Queens Of The Stone Age cover, btw). Ya want it? It's about $4 and you can find it here.

John Frusciante has just released his fifth album this year, Inside Of Emptiness, with two more to follow. He has also turned into a raging geek, as you can see from the picture above. Do you think it is just a disguise? I wish that, once he finishes these special CDs, he would pick the best songs and record them properly. I would rather have one great album than six "eh" ones. He needs a proper follow-up to the amazing Shadows Collide With People- the first record I wrote about on this blog.

You can watch/hear the fiasco here. So embarrassing. According to some people on the Velvet Rope, the fault probably lies with the drummer for pressing the wrong song on a "DAT" machine. That doesn't negate the fatc she was going to lipsync on SNL.

Best comment on the Velvet Rope about this (by "Tomars"): Y'know I can't help but feel a little sorry for her. This kinda stuff hits shallow/2-d people really hard

The biggest question is not about Ashlee Simpson (don't you hate that spelling?), who will be a distant memory in a few years. It's how SNL ended up at this point. Didn't they use dot have performers like Elvis Costello and Patti Smith? How have they sunk so low? One would assume it is the power of Ashlee's daddy/manager combined with a dire change in demographics and Lorne Michael's craven sell-out tendencies. Whatevah, it will probably be the only funny moment on SNL this year.

October 22, 2004

Poor Bitchin' Gwen. Hope she isn't too mad with Gavin for having a FIFTEEN YEAR OLD daughter? Maybe she should just come stay in Arlington? Anyhoo, here are the details of Love Angel Music Baby (that's LAMB to those in the know, like me)...

1. What You Waiting ForProduced by Nellee Hooper; Co-written with Linda Perry
2. Rich Girlfeaturing Eve Produced by Dr Dre
3. Hollaback GirlCo-written and produced by The Neptunes
4. CoolCo-written and produced by Dallas Austin
5. Bubble Pop ElectricCo-written and produced by Andre 3000 (Johnny Vulture)
6. LuxuriousCo-produced by Nellee Hooper and Tony Kanal; Co-written with Tony Kanal
7. Harajuku GirlsCo-written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
8. CrashCo-written and produced by Tony Kanal
9. Real ThingCo-written with Linda Perry; Intro performed by Wendy and Lisa from Prince's old band; Bass performed by Peter Hook from New Order; Backing Vocals from Bernard Sumner of New Order
10. Serious Co-written and produced by Tony Kanal
11. Danger ZoneProduced by Nellee Hooper and Dallas Austin; Co-written with Linda Perry and Dallas Austin
12. Long Way To Go
Co-written and performed by Andre 3000

Lots of people post song lyrics on their blogs, so I am going to do that today too. It's a cool, overcast October day and these days always remind me of my friend Rudy Miller, who died at a young age in 1994. Rudy used to quote this song liberally. He was right that the stanza in white is genius, as is every line of "Hejira" by Joni Mitchell. This is one of the wisest songs ever written (and that's no hyperbole).

HEJIRA Joni Mitchell

I'm traveling in some vehicleI'm sitting in some cafeA defector from the petty warsThat shell shock love awayThere's comfort in melancholyWhen there's no need to explainIt's just as natural as the weatherIn this moody sky todayIn our possessive couplingSo much could not be expressedSo now I'm returning to myselfThese things that you and I suppressedI see something of myself in everyoneJust at this moment of the worldAs snow gathers like bolts of laceWaltzing on a ballroom girlYou know it never has been easyWhether you do or you do not resignWhether you travel the breadth of extremitiesOr stick to some straighter lineNow here's a man and a woman sitting on a rockThey're either going to thaw out or freezeListen...strains of Benny GoodmanComing thru' the snow and the pinewood treesI'm porous with travel feverBut you know I'm so glad to be on my ownStill somehow the slightest touch of a strangerCan set up trembling in my bonesI know - no one's going to show me everythingWe all come and go unknownEach so deep and superficialBetween the forceps and the stoneWell I looked at the granite markersThose tributes to finality - to eternityAnd then I looked at myself hereChicken scratching for my immortalityIn the church they light the candlesAnd the wax rolls down like tearsThere's the hope and the hopelessnessI've witnessed thirty yearsWe're only particles of change I know, I knowOrbiting around the sunBut how can I have that point of viewWhen I'm always bound and tied to someoneWhite flags of winter chimneysWaving truce against the moonIn the mirrors of a modern bankFrom the window of a hotel roomI'm traveling in some vehicleI'm sitting in some cafeA defector from the petty warsUntil love sucks me back that way

October 21, 2004

A few days ago I mentioned the new Bjork single Who Is It. Now you can see the kooky new video here. The treatment for this one seems to be: Bjork hooks up on a black sand beach with a gaggle of Teletubbies dressed as Pearly Kings. And, oh yeah, the remix will be performed by a bell choir.

You've gotta hand it to Rufus Wainwright. The guy has got major cajones. His new CD (Want Two... want two what?) features him in DRAG on the cover. Or pre-Raphaelite drag.

Fans on his messageboard, who hysterically overanalyze everything, have smartly alluded to David Bowie's penchant for bold /shocking album covers and this one is in that vein. Did Rufus decide WalMart would not sell the record anyway, since it features a song about giving Jesus a blowjob? I saw the .jpg posted a few days ago and assumed a fan had done a mock cover with a famous painting, but noooo, this is actually the cover.

October 19, 2004

My favorite goony pixie of course. Bjork has a cool new minisite for her single Who Is It, which I LOVE LOVE LOVE. This song is perhaps the most accessible and Bjorkian of all the songs on her new Medulla CD - it's totally uplifting.

Bad news yesterday that Marc Almond has been seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident. He was a passenger on a bike that was hit by a car in London and he went flying. He is last listed as stable, but who knows what that means?

Marc's career has actually been going really well. He consistently releases CDs and, while they are not perfect, all of the recent ones have had some real gems on them. Most people know him from "Tainted Love" - but his own writing is much better. Tenement Symphony is, in fact a masterpiece. Finding samples online for Marc is hard, though you can hear some of his latest incarnation as a Russian chanteuse.

I hope he recovers! More news from the Beeb. Marc has a great website and you can even write him a get well message here.

October 18, 2004

October 14, 2004

I am beside myself with giddiness over the potential public embarrassment / downfall of Bill O'Reilly. Gawker.com has funny coverage and links here. A sample of one of Bill's phone calls to the woman (please, God, I will be a little angel for at least a week if you air this phone call in the media!):

I would take the other hand with the felafel (sic) thing and I would put it on your pussy.... just kind of a tease business..."

Note that he means loofah, not felafel! That last "business" phrase is so Bill O'Reilly; he so said that and he is going down...

In related news, sorta-not-quite, the Slate Election Scorecard is so close that I can't take it. This link may not hold - it could change from day to day - but you can find the Scorecard in the Campaign Tab on their navbar. Anyway, I'm going to have to be sedated that night...or just sit on the floor by the toilet waiting to puke from the tension.

I think I may be ovahMark Eitzel, but I thought I'd post this anyway, if only to comment of the fugly situation with his sweater and belt - what is that belt buckled around? Anyway, American Music Club have a new CD. Is it More Of The Same? Probably, but I haven't bothered to play the MP3's on their webpage. Here is an article about their current CD and whatnot...

October 13, 2004

Check out the new song by Stars, one of my favorite groups. They have a new CD out in Canada, which took me completely by surprise (the CD, not Canada, which never took anyone by surpise!). Here is a link for a free download to the single "Ageless Beauty." More on the new album next week.

Warning: the download is exceedingly slow. I am on a warp speed network and a 2M file took 30 minutes. Maybe the indie label has a 28 modem or something!?

Today I received my 20th Anniversary Deluxe edition ofLloyd Cole and The CommotionsRattlesnakes. 18 extra tracks and a fab booklet. It even has a sheath! I am a happy fan, even if I never really play the extras that much (doesn't that always happen?).

For those who follow Lloyd, the Commotions are reuniting as we blog in the UK for a few shows before they go back to their day jobs. The London show is Friday night: anyone up for a quick trip? (Jim C. is, one would guess) Here are a few tidbits:

The fact that I know who Lloyd is at all is because of she-goddess Laurie Usery Morrissey, who made me a mix tape 20 years ago. Credit where credit is due, Laurie was a very literate and au courant teen.

What Would Bitchin' Gwen Do? She'd buy one of these Hifi bagsthat Lisa N. has been rockin' (now don't I sound like I should go into sales? I would finally be rich). Anyway, Lisa has one of the totes with The Clash's London Calling. If you get a custom-made one, by sending in albums of your choice, you can have two front covers.

Not sure if these are exactly copyright friendly, but that's not your problem right? Just you wait for these to show up in the little market section of US Magazine when fucking Ashlee Simpson starts running around with a Fugazi one because she is such a fucking punk. If I were to carry one, which I probably won't, it might have the above Grace Jones CD cover, which I put on the wall of my first apt.

Today Duran Duran releases Astronaut, which is technically their first new studio CD (with the original line-up) in 21 years! Since you most likely cannot celebrate by fucking a nubile body-painted girl on a long phallic yacht in the Mediterranean, perhaps you could sit in your cubicle and watch their "Astronaut" 10-minute electronic press kit? The rockin' Duran Duran Italy site has it - just scroll down a bit - they also provided the cool image seen above (click to enlarge, you dirty birds!).

Note that I take back what I said about Roger Taylor looking bad ("Ragged Roger"?) - he actually looks the best of all of them in this particular set of interviews. Samples of the album are now up at Amazon - check out the super-catchy title track, the mega-anthem "What Happens Tomorrow" and "Nice," which sounds like it was recorded for Ragged Tiger. "Bedroom Toys" is sucky and scary - must be one of the Nile Rodgers tracks.

Keane fans should check out this Keane website. It has tons of articles, pictures and other goodies. For something fascinating, check out a very old version of This Is The Last Time. The video's dull, but the arrnagement is completely different. Broadband or 56 Modem Here also is the Somewhere Only We Know video, much better than the US version. Broadband or Modem

I woke up at 5am and my blankets were up near my head, not just covering my head, but all pulled up, so my feet were exposed. ?! What happened? So at 5am I was awake and playing this Tom Baxter record one more time. If Jeff Buckley (JB) were alive today, I am not sure Tom Baxter (TB) would have been signed; he is the most Buckley-esque of all the post-Memphis-drowning clones and I will cast this review of Feather & Stone against JB. It can't be avoided. Usually the vocal link to JB is a white boy who would sound comfortable singing Nina Simone, soulful on the low notes, but with an angelic range. In this case, it's not so much high notes as a certain tightness and gurgle in his voice that is pure JB. The lyrics and arrangements veer closer to Shawn Colvin or David Gray. Sweet songs like This Boy, The Moon & Me and All Comes True are jaunty and memorable, if a bit lacking in originality.

Don't Let Go, however, is off-putting in its JB wantonness, but the urgent piano arrangement is the saving grace (pun intended). The final ballad, Scorpio Boy, loses me with this hammy whispered opening line: "When I was young, my mama told me.."

Let me congratulate Baxter and his peoples for putting out a debut album with ten songs. Thank you! This record is consistent enough and brief enough that I am able to understand who he is, or is not, as it were. The 15-song CD is a peeve I lament over again and again on this blog. Feather & Stone isn't too much to absorb. This one is a UK only release, but you can get it for a better price on Amazon Marketplace (US).

October 6, 2004

There isn't much music news that inspires me today. The REM album is so wan that I have decided not to buy it and just grab a few tracks on itunes. I felt the same way about the Client CDI crowed about awhile back. I ended up buying 5 songs, but skipping the CD itself.

I DO have one song recommendation: the new Supergrass single "Kiss Of Life" - a delicious Talking Heads homage that kicks some ass. Put it on in your car and you will feel very cool. Brief sample on this page.

In lieu of any music comments (and having very little to contribute regarding last night's debate), I will post a picture of something I would like to pop in my mouth right now:

This beauty was made by the Cupcake Cafe on 39th St in Manhattan, but I won't link to them because the cupcakes actually taste like bricks! You are better served going downtown and waiting in line at Magnolia Bakery. (link)You may stand in line behind Pharrel Williams or SJP, so that's no problem. For DC readers, I have found that CakeLove is not so lovely. They might try using ingredients with some flavor! In this town you are better served coming to my house for a sweet.

October 5, 2004

1) They wrote one of the Top Ten Finest Songs of the 1990's, called "A Design For Life" - it opened with the line "Libraries gave us power." This song is the definition of sweeping.

2) We like underdogs. Manic Street Preachers should have died when their frontman disapperared, but they didn't and the songs just got better.

3) I personally don't love their albums, just key singles that are frequently doozies, not to mention some of the best titled songs in pop music:
Motorcycle Emptiness
If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next
La Tristesse Durera (Scream to a Sigh)
You Stole The Sun From My Heart
The Masses Against The ClassesMotown Junksamples of each here

4) They have a new single called "The Love Of Richard Nixon" (see the video) and a new album called Lifeblood. Interestingly this one is supposed to be "elegaic" and calm.

5) They are Welsh and from Cardiff, a place of personal import to me! Read a great interview with MSP in The Guardian here.

October 4, 2004

It's late in the evening and what is that noise you hear in your neighborhood in suburban Wyckoff (aka Whack-off), New Jersey? It's a hearty guffaw being belted by Joan Collins, who sits in her easy chair reading The Dick Cheney Code, a spoof of The DaVinci Code. Yes, the real Joan Collins loves this book: Joan Collins, subtly hip "mater" of Jim.

I had never heard of this book until today! Note that there are tons of cheap used copies in Amazon Marketplace. Just in time for the debate on Tuesday night, during which I hope Dickhead Cheney finally peels off the crooked mask to reveal an oozing, pustule-laden face of Lucifer. It would be so very South Park, wouldn't it?

October 1, 2004

Morrissey is just about to release his new single, the many-times-aforementioned "Let Me Kiss You." Check out the 3 new b-sides on this sampler.

There are also 3 new songs on the upcoming re-release (with a "tacky badge"?) of You Are The Quarry. They are "Slum Mums", "I'm Playing Easy To Get" & "No One Can Hold A Candle To You." Once these are released you are talking about a second album's worth of tracks (12 total non-album tracks). Ahhh, to be a fan!

This version of the CD is coming out in the UK with a new cover and booklet and a DVD that probably won't play here (poppycock!) with these videos: "Irish Blood, English Heart", "First Of The Gang To Die" & "Let Me Kiss You (Live On Jools Holland)."

Meanwhile Fancy Nancy Sinatrareleases her own version of "Let Me Kiss You." Take a gander at Nance with the Hives above! Her website also has pix of her with Ewan MacGregor and Huge Jackman in the news section. The new CD is out now and it is cool...low down cool. Let Me Kiss You remains my favorite. Hear some other samples now!